Historical Sketch

Prior to World War II, Eugene McDermott, Cecil Green and J. Erik Jonsson,
the founders of Geophysical Services, Inc., were in the business of
searching for natural resources. The war changed the focus of the company
from searching for natural resources to creating instruments that aided
in finding enemy planes and submarines. GSI spawned Texas Instruments
and in 1958, TI employee Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit
that launched a new era for the company, for North Texas and for the
world.

During the expansion of Texas Instruments, the Founders were forced
to import engineering talent from outside the state, while the region's
bright young people pursued education elsewhere. McDermott, Green and
Jonsson saw that Texas needed highly educated minds if the state was
to remain competitive in the decades to come. They noted that in 1959
alone, Columbia University conferred 560 doctoral degrees - more than
the entire Southwest region. They wrote at the time, "To grow industrially,
the region must grow academically; it must provide the intellectual
atmosphere, which will allow it to compete in the new industries dependent
on highly trained and creative minds."

Therefore, they established the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest
(later renamed the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies) in 1961. The
center recruited some of the best scientific talent in the nation. The
Texas Legislature concurred with the vision of the Founders and mandated
in 1967 that science and technology educational opportunities needed
to exist in North Texas. McDermott, Green and Jonsson decided to donate
SCAS and its lands to The University of Texas System, and on June 13,
1969, Governor Preston Smith signed the bill creating The University
of Texas at Dallas. The SCAS scientists formed the core of U.T. Dallas'
educational infrastructure.

By terms of its enabling legislation, U.T. Dallas offered only graduate
degrees until 1975 when the addition of juniors and seniors increased
enrollment from 408 in 1974 to more than 3,300 students. By the fall
of 1977, the enrollment reached over 5,300. In 1986, U.T. Dallas established
the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. Today,
with the largest undergraduate enrollment in the university, the Jonsson
School plays a critical role in providing a highly educated work force
for the advanced technology industry.

In 1990, the Texas Legislature authorized U.T. Dallas to admit lower
division students. U.T. Dallas' first freshman class consisted of only
100 students. Despite its small size, this cohort's achievements have
set the standard for future classes. Since then, freshman classes have
grown in size while the university has maintained high enrollment standards.
Nationally published data indicate that U.T. Dallas' freshman class
compares extremely well with those from many prominent national universities.

The Rise to National Prominence

The university's ability to attract and retain these students has
propelled U.T. Dallas into national prominence within a few short years.
US News and World Report ranks U.T. Dallas as one of the three best
public universities in the state along with U.T. Austin and Texas A&M.
Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, in its October 2000 article "100
Best Values in Public Colleges", ranked U.T. Dallas 60th among
all public universities nationally. The quality of the students who
attend U.T. Dallas has remained consistently high. Over forty percent
of the incoming freshmen are in the top 10% of their high school graduating
class and their average SAT scores place them in the top twenty percent
of all college-bound students.

The addition of freshmen has accelerated the rise in the percentage
of full-time undergraduates from 31% in 1986 to nearly 70% in 2002.
Masters, doctoral and post-baccalaureate students currently comprise
40% of the student body. Given its location and mission, U.T. Dallas
will continue to have significant numbers of professionals attending
undergraduate or master's courses part time.

The transition of the university from a part-time upper division school
to a four-year university with an emphasis on engineering, mathematics,
the sciences and the management of new technologies has been greatly
facilitated by the university's faculty. By retaining key faculty members
and attracting more nationally and internationally prominent researchers
and instructors, U.T. Dallas has enabled its faculty to provide quality
instruction to an increasingly diverse student population while sustaining
the university's longstanding research tradition. In the past decade,
the faculty has increased the level of external research funds substantially.
During this same period, the university expanded its teaching mission,
became a full-fledged institution, improved its external research funding,
enhanced its areas of focused excellence and became independently recognized
as one of the top public universities in the nation.

Mission

The mission of The University of Texas at Dallas is to provide Texas
and the nation with the benefits of educational and research programs
of the highest quality. These programs address the multidimensional
needs of a dynamic, modern society driven by the development, diffusion,
understanding and management of advanced technology.

Within the context of this mission, the goals of the university are:

To provide able, ambitious students with a high quality, cost effective
education that combines the nurturing environment of a liberal arts
college with the intellectual rigor and depth of a major research
university;

To discover new knowledge and create new art that enriches civilization
at large and contributes significantly to economic and social progress;
and

To enhance the productivity of business and government with strategically
designed, responsively executed programs of research, service and
education.

Organization

The University of Texas at Dallas consists of seven Schools, each
headed by a dean: Arts and Humanities, Behavioral and Brain Sciences,
Engineering and Computer Science, General Studies, Management, Natural
Sciences and Mathematics, and Social Sciences. The schools, in turn,
consist of teaching and research programs that provide the disciplinary
foundations of the university. In addition to the usual disciplinary
approaches, the university has a strong commitment to interdisciplinary
study at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Most faculty members
teach in both graduate and undergraduate areas so that the character
of their instruction is informed by critical examination of the most
recent developments in their fields.

Each of the university’s schools contains an undergraduate college,
headed by an Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education (ADU) who coordinates
the undergraduate programs and academic advising within the college.
These colleges of The University of Texas at Dallas provide undergraduate
students with a personalized setting in which they may pursue their
academic careers. Each college offers an intellectual and social home
for undergraduates within the larger university.

The Office of Undergraduate Education coordinates undergraduate education
across the seven schools. The Council for Undergraduate Education (CUE),
chaired by the Dean of Undergraduate Education, oversees lower-division
admissions, academic advising and degree requirements, and develops
and implements educational policy. The staff of the Office of Undergraduate
Education manages the freshman admission review process and Academic
Excellence Scholarship programs. They coordinate academic advising,
administer the teaching evaluation system, monitor academic compliance
for NCAA athletes, manage pre-professional training programs, and supervise
the Collegium V honors program, as well as all Intellectual Competition
teams. In addition, all freshman and sophomore students without declared
majors are advised in the Office of Undergraduate Education.

Statement on Equal Education Opportunity

The university is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination on the
basis of sex, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, age, national
origin, disability, or veteran status in its provision of services,
activities, and programs, and in its treatment of students. Students
seeking further information about this policy, or related complaint
procedures for alleged discrimination or sexual harassment should contact
the Dean of Students.

Accreditation

The University of Texas at Dallas is accredited by the Commission
on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866
Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097: Telephone number 404-679-4501)
to award baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees.

This catalog is a general information
publication only. It is not intended to nor does it contain all regulations
that relate to students. The provisions of this catalog do not constitute
a contract, express or implied, between any applicant, student or faculty
member and The University of Texas at Dallas or The University of Texas
System. The University of Texas at Dallas reserves the right to withdraw
courses at any time, to change fees or tuition, calendar, curriculum,
degree requirements, graduation procedures, and any other requirements
affecting students. Changes will become effective whenever the proper
authorities so determine and will apply to both prospective students
and those already enrolled.

Statement on Equal Educational
OpportunityThe University of Texas at Dallas is
committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal
opportunity to all members of the University community. In accordance
with federal and state law, the University prohibits unlawful discrimination
on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age,
disability, and veteran status. Discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation is also prohibited pursuant to University policy.